Cheese and Mice

Since the online learning model is so much different than the traditional brick-and-mortar university setting, part of the introductory course for WGU involves reading one of the most notorious pop-culture books on change: Who Moved My Cheese? We had to write a ~100 word review of what we learned from the book. Here's mine:

I have to begin by saying that stylistically, this book was not my cup of tea. I found it simplistic, preachy, and heavy-handed, especially the 'A Discussion: Later That Same Day' section. Admittedly, most self-help books are like this. It helps to drive home the point. In fact, I frequently heard myself thinking, "All right, already. Change is inevitable. Resistance to change is bad. I get it." So I suppose author was ultimately effective with the style he chose to employ.

Of all the characters in the book, I am most like Haw. I'm not really a Sniff or Scurry personality. I'm not a believer in change for the sake of change, and I don't actively go looking for change. I'm a fan of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. Still, I know that things do, will, and must change sometimes. Without change there is no growth. And while I am initially resistant to change, I usually don't have much difficulty dealing with change once I've had a chance to assimilate the change and to come to understand why it's necessary and beneficial.

My 'cheese' is becoming a teacher. It's a goal I've had for a long time, and in the pursuit of that goal I've seen a lot of changes. My 'maze', then, would be the personal and professional circumstances that I have to overcome to reach that goal. What this book taught me is that the 'cheese' is more important than the 'maze'. It is more productive to focus on the goal than on the obstacles to reaching that goal.